MassachusettsHISTORY EXPLORERS GRADES 3–8
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Reading tools & my notebook
My passport
Quick glossary
evidence
Information from a source that helps us test a claim.
source
A document, object, image, or account we can examine.
inference
An explanation based on clues; it still needs checking.
migration
Moving from one place to another to live.
immigrant
A person who moves to another country to live.
estimate
An approximate amount, based on available information.
oral history
A recorded interview about someone’s memories and experiences.
community
People connected by a place, relationships, or shared activities.
ancestry
Family origins across generations.
primary source
Evidence created by someone who experienced a time or event.

Explore · listen · explain

Community voices

Listen to people describe their own experiences. A community contains many perspectives.

Collection context image, not a portrait of a speaker.
Collection context image, not a portrait of a speaker.

Wampanoag voices

Read the Aquinnah Tribe’s account of Wampanoag history and continuing community life.

Explore the source
Collection context image, not a portrait of a speaker.
Collection context image, not a portrait of a speaker.

Brazilian Vineyard stories

Explore attributed summaries and follow the links to a museum oral history and published interviews.

Explore the source
Collection context image, not a portrait of a speaker.
Collection context image, not a portrait of a speaker.

Black island heritage

Explore the African American Heritage Trail’s accounts of people and places.

Explore the source
Collection context image, not a portrait of a speaker.
Collection context image, not a portrait of a speaker.

The museum’s oral histories

Explore the museum’s collection of recorded memories. Check each speaker, date, and source context.

Explore the source

Make room for another voice

New interviews with farmers, fishermen, artists, school founders, and other neighbors belong here only after permission and review. This site does not claim to have recorded or obtained permission for interviews that have not taken place.

  1. Ask an adult to arrange the conversation and explain its purpose.
  2. Ask permission to take notes or record. The guest can skip any question or stop.
  3. Ask about a place, skill, memory, or change—not private documents or legal status.
  4. Let the guest review the words you plan to share. Get separate permission before publishing.

Questions you can choose

  • What place on the island matters to you, and why?
  • What skill or tradition would you like others to understand?
  • What has changed since you first knew this place?
  • What would you like a young historian to ask next?
Use the listening notebookPrint an interview lesson
Explore the six lessons →Image credits & sources →
CAI · The Point

Listen to a Wampanoag perspective

Myths of the First Thanksgiving

November 21, 2019 · English audio · 49 minutes, 28 seconds

CAI’s discussion features Wampanoag educator David Vanderhoop and historian David Silverman. They examine how the 1621 gathering became a national story and ask what familiar Thanksgiving accounts leave out.

Open the original CAI program

Audio streams from CAI’s published recording. No autoplay. The overview here is a summary, not a transcript.

For teachers and families

Preview this full-length discussion and choose a short excerpt for younger learners. Pause to explain unfamiliar words and discuss colonization and harm with care. The English recording does not change when you switch the site’s language.

For a reading option, use the Plymouth & Patuxet lesson and its source lab. These are companion materials, not a transcript of this recording.

Read the Plymouth & Patuxet lesson · Investigate the source lab

Before, during, after

  1. Before listening: what have you heard about the 1621 gathering? Write it as a claim to investigate.
  2. While listening: note one speaker, a detail, and the playback time. Is the speaker recalling, interpreting, or citing a source?
  3. After listening: explain one idea you would revise. What evidence or further source would help you check it?

You can discuss, draw, dictate, or write. Do not pretend to speak for Wampanoag people.

Explore the six lessons →Image credits & sources →
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